Tzibte Yux, Tzib Te Yux, or Tzib'te Yux, is a Preceramic rock shelter and archaeological site in the Rio Blanco National Park, Toledo, Belize. It is thought to have been occupied by Palaeoindian settlers during 10500 BC – 6500 BC.

Tzibte Yux
Longitudinal diagram of Tzibte Yux / excavation units 1–9 labelled / 2019 Prufer et al. / via PLOS ONE
Tzibte Yux is located in Belize
Tzibte Yux
Tzibte Yux
Tzibte Yux is located in Mesoamerica
Tzibte Yux
Tzibte Yux
Alternative name
  • Tzib Te Yux
  • Tzib'te Yux
LocationRio Blanco National Park, Toledo, Belize
RegionYucatan Peninsula
Coordinates16°13′45″N 89°05′36″W / 16.22918291312578°N 89.09335790400635°W / 16.22918291312578; -89.09335790400635
TypeRock shelter
Length121 ft (37 m)
Width14.8 ft (4.5 m)
History
Founded10500 BC
Abandoned6500 BC
PeriodsPreceramic
CulturesPalaeoindian
Site notes
Discovered2009
Excavation dates2012–2015
ArchaeologistsKeith Prufer / Uxbenka Archaeological Project
OwnershipPublic
ManagementInstitute of Archaeology
Public accessLimited

Description

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Tzibte Yux is a rockshelter measuring some 121 ft (37 m) long and 14.8 ft (4.5 m) wide at its widest point.[1] Its entrance, protected by a silicified limestone and conglomerate overhang, sits some 26 ft (8 m) above Blue Creek during the dry season, though this decreases to less than 6 ft (2 m) during the wet season.[1] Its floor is relatively flat and composed of sediments, predominantly jute snail shells deposited by former pre-Columbian inhabitants.[2]

Fishtail- and Lowe-style stemmed bifacial points have been recovered from Tzibte Yux, the former dated 10450 cal BC – 10085 cal BC, the latter 8275 cal BC – 6650 cal BC.[3][4] Human remains have also been recovered from the rock shelter.[2]

Study

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Tzibte Yux was discovered by the Uxbenka Archaeological Project in 2009.[5] Subsequently, nine blocks or units, ie Units 1–9, covering some 194 sq ft (18 m2) of the rock shelter's floor, were excavated to a mean depth of some 2.5 ft (0.75 m) during 2012–2015.[6] A piece of charcoal found at the bottom of a red clay layer in Unit 1, some 23 in (58 cm) below the floor's surface, was dated to 10571 cal BC – 10526 cal BC. Most material in other units produced dates within 10500 cal BC – 6500 cal BC, though Unit 7 yielded a later date of 890 cal AD – 975 cal AD at 18.5 in (47 cm) below surface.[7]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Prufer et al. 2017, p. 322.
  2. ^ a b Prufer et al. 2017, p. 323.
  3. ^ Braswell 2022, p. 90, fig. 4.5.
  4. ^ Stemp et al. 2021, p. 419.
  5. ^ Prufer et al. 2017, p. 321.
  6. ^ Prufer et al. 2017, pp. 321–323.
  7. ^ Prufer et al. 2017, pp. 323–325.

References

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  1. Braswell, Geoffrey E., ed. (2022). 3,000 Years of War and Peace in the Maya Lowlands: Identity, Politics, and Violence. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781351268004. ISBN 9781351268004. S2CID 246542762.
  2. Dennehy, Timothy J. (2021). From Foragers to Farmers in Tropical Forests: How Paleoindian and Archaic Peoples in Southern Belize Adapted Their Lithics, Mobility, and Subsistence to a Changing Holocene Climate (PhD thesis). Arizona State University. ProQuest 2610379260.
  3. Houk, Brett A.; Arroyo, Barbara; Powis, Terry G., eds. (2019). Approaches to Monumental Landscapes of the Ancient Maya: A Legacy of Human Occupation. Maya studies. Gainesville, Fl.: University Press of Florida. ISBN 9780813057347. OCLC 1137019195.
  4. Lohse, Jon C. (13 January 2020). "Early Holocene Cultural Diversity in Central America: Comment on Prufer et al. (2019) "Linking Late Paleoindian Stone Tool Technologies and Populations in North, Central and South America"". Lithic Technology. 45 (2): 59–67. doi:10.1080/01977261.2020.1713609. S2CID 245125311.
  5. Meredith, Clayton (2014). Analysis of Small Cave Sites Related to the Uxbenka Polity: Application of FT-IR Techniques in the Study of Ritual Practice (MA thesis). Idaho State University.
  6. Prufer, Keith M. (1 August 2018). "Preceramic Cultural History in Southern Belize and its Environmental Context". Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology. 15: 241–251. ISSN 2079-1038.
  7. Prufer, Keith M.; Alsgaard, Asia V.; Robinson, Mark; Meredith, Clayton R.; Culleton, Brendan J.; Dennehy, Timothy; Magee, Shelby; Huckell, Bruce B.; Stemp, W. James; Awe, Jaime J.; Capriles, Jose M.; Kennett, Douglas J. (18 July 2019). "Linking late paleoindian stone tool technologies and populations in North, Central and South America". PLOS ONE. 14 (7): 1-20 of article no. e0219812. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1419812P. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0219812. PMC 6638942. PMID 31318917.
  8. Prufer, Keith M.; Meredith, Clayton R.; Alsgaard, Asia V.; Dennehy, Timothy; Kennett, Douglas (1 January 2017). "The Paleoindian Chronology of Tzib Te Yux Rockshelter in the Rio Blanco Valley of Southern Belize". Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology. 14: 321–326. ISSN 2079-1038.
  9. Prufer, Keith M.; Robinson, Mark; Kennett, Douglas J. (14 December 2021). "Terminal Pleistocene Through Middle Holocene Occupations in Southeastern Mesoamerica: Linking Ecology and Culture in the Context of Neotropical Foragers and Early Farmers". Ancient Mesoamerica. 32 (3): 439–460. doi:10.1017/S0956536121000195. S2CID 245125309.
  10. Stemp, W. James; Awe, Jaime J.; Marcus, Joyce; Helmke, Christophe; Sullivan, Lauren A. (14 December 2021). "The Preceramic and Early Ceramic Periods in Belize and the Central Maya Lowlands". Ancient Mesoamerica. 32 (3): 416–438. doi:10.1017/S0956536121000444. S2CID 245125311.
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